Sheltered Reality Assembly: March 7, 2013

Sheltered Reality will be appearing at Dodge City Middle School on Thursday, March 7th for an all school assembly. The group will be live and on stage at 2:00 P.M. with an anti- bulling message. Founded in 1996, Sheltered Reality (SR) is a nonprofit musical organization whose performing membership spans all ages (currently as young as 4 and as old as 76!!). However, the majority of the members are youth aged 7-18 who come from practice sites located in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, Kentucky, and Wisconsin (with more sites and states to come).

SR believes that Music can have Meaning, yet be a blast at the same time! SR performances use the power of percussion set to music, as well as high energy choreography, to engage and then motivate audiences to realize that any person, at any age in life, can dream and succeed. Success is first demonstrated through audience drum lessons followed by one or more audience participation songs; these always prove to be fun for audience members of all ages. However, SR then uses stories of hardship and triumph, as well as a sequence of Steps of Success to teach personal empowerment, character building, and ultimately translate the drum-playing success into something much more important: success in changing the world, and especially helping advocate for youth in crisis...the ultimate mission of Sheltered Reality.

Spring Conferences April 17th & 18th

Spring Conferences will be held on Wednesday, April 17th and Thursday, 18th. These conferences will be for students who are at risk of same grade placement for next year or being recommended for summer school. Teachers will be contacting parents to schedule these conferences. If you are not contacted for a conference but would still like to meet with your student’s teachers, you can do so by calling the school office to make such a request or drop by the team conference area to see a teacher. Parents who have not been contacted to attend the spring conference may pick up their child’s progress report in the office on April 17th between 4:00 and 6:00 P.M. and on April 18th between 12:30 and 7:00 P.M. Any progress reports not picked up will be mailed home on Monday, April 22nd. You can also visit with a teacher while you are at school. Remember that there will be no school on Friday, April 19, 2013.

Transition from Middle School to High School

As eighth grade students prepare to enter high school, their transition is made easier by a series of events that are ongoing throughout the year. Through our Connect computer education program, eighth graders are introduced to Career to Work plans and the world of work through the Kansas Career Pipeline. During the class the students take the Career Interest Inventory. After their interest inventory is completed they are introduced to different vocations by our career counselor. Then, students explore different career opportunities during the DCMS Career Fair every other year.

Eighth grade students take the EXPLORE exam, which provides information that will help the student in preparation for the future. The Explore exam along with the local CRA math test scores, and teacher input are all considered by the high school counseling staff as they work with the 8th grade students during the pre-enrollment process for their 9th grade year. Curriculum Fair, March 25th at 7:00 P.M.To begin the transfomation process, Dodge City High School will host a Curriculum Fair on March 25th. This provides an opportunity to visit with teachers/coaches/sponsors from all of the academic programs, athletic and the activity programs they offer at DCHS. The purpose is to help our incoming 9th grade students to be prepared to pre-enroll for their freshman year at DCHS. The annual Curriculum Fair and informational meeting for next year’s freshman class and their parents will be held Monday, March 25, 2013 at Dodge City High School. The informational meeting will begin in the high school auditorium at 7:00 p.m. Parents and incoming students will learn about expectations, curriculum offerings and the enrollment process for next year.

Eighth Grade Pre-Enrollment April 3rd and 4thThis year, High School pre-enrollment will be held on April 3rd and 4th at DCMS. To assist in course selection for 9th grade the students/parents are mailed a copy of the high school course catalog approximately one month prior meeting with the high school counselors. During pre-enrollment the high school counseling staff will be at DCMS to meet with students in small groups so they can give the students as much one on one support as needed. Parents are sent home a copy of the courses selected by the 8th grade students for their approval before their schedules are finalized.

VISION STATEMENT

Dodge City Middle School will foster a culture with independent learning where students can achieve their full potential in academics, personal, physical and moral development in the 21st Century.